I had this happen to me immediately following my recent processor upgrade. I was told to connect an en external monitor to the VGA port on the back and it started up just fine. my monitor doesn’t even have to be turned on and the touchscreen works as it should, however if the VGA cable is disconnected then I get the all white screen. just make sure the monitor is connected before you start the surface.

Same issue (white screen) on our T112.
The problem was an empty bios backup battery.

Hi,
I had the same blank screen on my T112 at startup yesterday. I had this a few times some time ago but after a switch off/on the surface worked again. i thought it was cold wether.
But yesterday the blank screen stayed after several restarts. in the end i switched the on button 10 times very fast on/off an bingo it booted normal an worked through the night.
At the end of the night i shut down the T112 in the normal way ( as i always do) and again it started up with a blank screen.
@ SNOEI : did just changing the battery solved the problem or was the bootrom defect?

Lieven

T112/IDR48/R72/IDR16/xDR16/2ACEcards/IPad1
Save a tree, eat a beaver

OK,
thanks, i shall contact support to see what should be done.
My T112 is +- 3 years new. I looked it up an a cmos battery should last 2 to 10 years depending on environment/battery type/current draw from the board and how long the board is turned off. this could be right as my T112 isn’t working all the time and 3 years could be.
Lieven

T112/IDR48/R72/IDR16/xDR16/2ACEcards/IPad1
Save a tree, eat a beaver

Some updates on the white screen problem.
I took out the SBC PC and the backup battery was dead: 0,8v instead of 3,2V. I replaced the battery and the SBC came back to live but the touch screen still was white although the external screen now worked as expected.I had to make some changes in the BIOS ( because when the backup battery is dead or removed everything is reset to default)
i had to set the resolution to 800×600 and the screen to LCD/CRT.after saving and restart now the touch screen is working again.
I still have to re-enter some other settings in the bIOS concerning processor speed and power management: i don’t want the pc go to sleep in the middle off a show. I asked A&H but still waiting for the settings. I tried looking in my R72 bios settings but unfortunately it is PW protected by A&H.

What worries me is the fact that after 3 years the battery had to be replaced( meaning de-solder it from the pc board).
If someone else can provide the right BIOS settings that would be great because i need the surface Saturday.

Lieven

T112/IDR48/R72/IDR16/xDR16/2ACEcards/IPad1
Save a tree, eat a beaver

I checked the changes I made on the default bios settings:

1: Display Device: CRT + LCD
2: Panel Type: 800×600 1Ch LVDS

And like Lieven described, changing these settings should be done with an external screen, because the touchscreen isn’t working before the setting changes.

Thanks guys,

I set up the BIOS settings as snoei suggested and it’s working again. Maybe it was a bad CR2032 backup battery that died too early.

Lieven

T112/IDR48/R72/IDR16/xDR16/2ACEcards/IPad1
Save a tree, eat a beaver